We leave the Tokyo Westin at 6:30AM Sunday morning to catch a flight from Narita Airport to Singapore.  Thus, I won't have time to post an article that day.  So, I send this now, and not long after midnight Hawaii time will come a second posting to cover that absence.   By the way, did I tell you that it is cold in Tokyo?  44 F. As I indicated yesterday, I've been to Robuchon many times. Click on this  to see some of my previous visits.   Ten years ago I indicated that Joel Robuchon, a quarter century ago, was named Chef of the Century, and that he is five years younger than me. He first retired in 1995 at the age of 50. His cuisine is retrogressive, harking back to the earlier days of French cooking before all the micro-stuff you now see, called  molecular gastronomy , created in 1988, but only began to become prominent around 2000. He passed away five years ago at the age of 73. It was another perfectly clear day in Tokyo today, so we had a perfect view of Mount Fuji from sun

This day was symptomatic of what we did during our various train stops.  Yesterday we considered visiting Jindaiji, a botanical park, but decided that the Fall colors were still missing, so forget that.  We instead went on a quick shopping trip to Shibuya, which is the next stop on the Yamanote Line.  The photo from our room of Yebisu Garden Place, a sprawling shopping mall with the Tokyo Westin on one end, and the JR Ebisu Station at the other.  Ebisu is the modern way of spelling Yebisu, and the Museum of Yebisu Beer is located here. The history of  Sapporo Beer is linked to Yebisu , and the history of beer in Japan shows the intertwining of the entire beer industry. In 1876 the Meiji government established the Kaitukushi beer brand, brewed by German-trained Seibe Nakagawa.  This was the beginning of Sapporo Beer, from where came the North Star logo. Nippon Beer Jozo Company then took over and Yebisu Beer went on sale in 1890, becoming so popular that the Yebisu Beer Hall opened at G

 Our trip to Sapporo has been a mitigated disaster.  Apparently, the weather destroyed the fall colors.  It was snowing when we arrived on Hokkaido and has continued to do so today.  So much so, that we will only walk a short distance near the Fairfield by Marriott for food.  Actually, it was worth the trip up to this island. Time  magazine this week featured on the cover Tadashi Yanai,  founder and leader of Uniqlo.  What is wrong with Japan?  Here is his take: But first, his life. Was born in Ube, Yamaguchi, a former coal town. Father had a tailor shop, and Tadashi was outstanding enough to go to and graduate from Waseda University.  He does say he hardly studied because there was a student walkout in Japan to protest against the government, and instead spent time traveling to the U.S. and U.K. where he got most of his ideas fo rchange.  Did graduate in Economics and Political Science. At the age of 34 opened his first Uniqlo store in Hiroshima. In 2003, when he was 54, wrote  One Wi